China's factory growth hits six-month high in June

BEIJING (REUTERS) - China's factory growth rose to a six-month high in June on improving domestic and foreign demand, adding to signs that the economy is regaining strength after an unsteady start to 2014.

The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 51 in June, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday, quickening from May's reading of 50.8 and in line with market expectations.

"The PMI reading continued to improve in June, indicating that the economy has basically stabilised," Zhang Liqun, a researcher at the Development Research Centre said in the statement accompanying the data. "Various measures to stabilise the economy have become effective," Zhang said, referring to a slew of government stimulus measures announced in recent months.

As one of the earliest pieces of Chinese data released each month, the improved PMI will bolster market expectations that the world's second-biggest economy is steadying, after hitting an 18-month low of 7.4 per cent between January and March. The official survey showed a broad-based recovery in manufacturing activity in June, with nine out of the 12 sub-indicies pointing to improvement from the previous month.